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Palin Spokesperson: It’s Okay To Attack Kids If We Do It

You may have heard that Sarah Palin’s spokesperson launched a brutal hit today on 19-year-old Levi Johnston, the former fiancee of Palin daughter Bristol, because he committed the sin of claiming he’d heard Palin say she’s hoping to cash in on a book deal. “It is interesting to learn Levi is working on a piece of fiction while honing his acting skills,’ Palin family spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton said.

Sorry to go all tabloid, but haven’t Palin and her spokesperson repeatedly said attacking kids is off limits? Haven’t they repeatedly insisted that attacks on her kids are proof that everyone from the media to the White House is conspiring to make Palin the victim of a cosmically unfair double standard?

Palin spokesperson Stapleton has repeatedly attacked Levi in the harshest of terms. And we don’t particularly care about that. But Palin recently complained that her kids should be off limits, and griped that her kids are constantly targeted, even though the Obama children were left alone. It’s a constant refrain from the Palin camp.

Palin and her crew, of course, would argue that they’re just defending themselves. But it seems fair to expect her camp to be called out for not taking a higher road, particularly if Camp Palin is gonna constantly do its victimization shtick and position Palin as a heroic Everymom defending her children against snooty family-values-disdaining coastal elitists.

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Posted by Greg Sargent | 07/10/2009, 03:20 PM EST | Categories: Republican Party

39 Responses

  1. Tena | July 10th, 2009 at 03:29 pm

    You expect anything other than a double standard with Palin? Hahahahahaha! When was she ever coherent, let alone consistent?

    To paraphrase Nooners: Palin isn’t thoughtful enough to know that she isn’t thoughtful enough.

  2. Greg Sargent | July 10th, 2009 at 03:36 pm

    Tena — maybe the double standard she’s talking about is that her camp is allowed to do it and others aren’t?

  3. sgwhiteinfla | July 10th, 2009 at 03:42 pm

    IOKIYAR forever and always.

  4. Tena | July 10th, 2009 at 03:48 pm

    Greg – you know, the other thing about this that is very trashy indeed is that Levi is the father of their grandson and he and Sarah throwing mud at each publicly is just about par for the course for both those families.

    Does everyone in Wasilla live in a trailer park? Jeez -

  5. Tena | July 10th, 2009 at 03:53 pm

    O, and Greg, I don’t think Sarah thinks about things like double standards, even though she talks about them. It’s like Nooners said in that piece – she doesn’t believe the criticism because she thinks she’s wonderful and perfect and authentic and just what everyone needs.

    She doesn’t recognize shortcomings from her side. Not at all.

  6. Kristine | July 10th, 2009 at 03:53 pm

    “Does everyone in Wasilla live in a trailer park?”

    Yes, yes they do and do meth in there while they are at it until the trailer explodes.

  7. Tena | July 10th, 2009 at 03:55 pm

    Kristine – that is the most cogent explanation for these people and their behavior that I’ve heard yet.

    I think it’s the meth and the 6 month long winters – they’re all nuts.

  8. harhar | July 10th, 2009 at 04:19 pm

    Not just nuts; these people are all consumed by their own egos and greed. Each one of them should be given a slow beating and a dead-end part time job at McDonalds, followed by an all-expense-paid trip to the Springer show.
    The tragedy is, all of our ‘elected’ act this way. Palin’s family just also happens to be retarded.

  9. Tena | July 10th, 2009 at 04:39 pm

    harhar – I’ll tell you what, I’ve spent time in some very small, isolated mountain towns and the populations of those places are, let’s say, special. It takes a special kind of person to live full time in a place that is that dark, that cold, for that long and that isolated from the rest of the country. So going in, you have some weird ducks. The winters and the small, isolated populations tend to foster yet more weirdness in people who are already disposed to it.

    I know I’m painting with a broad brush here, but I swear that every single small, isolated town in an extreme climate – desert towns are the same, and you see the same people living in them as live in small mountain towns – that I’ve been in and I’ve been a number, have more than their fair share of certifiable lunatics, narcissists, petty criminals and endless bloody feuds, not to mention tax rebels and people who want to secede from the US.

  10. Brad | July 10th, 2009 at 04:44 pm

    I think the fact that they are bashing the father of their grandson is the really scummy thing here. At some point, they will have to explain to that kid why they were so brutal to his father in the press. If this is family values, let me out.

  11. Nellcote | July 10th, 2009 at 05:09 pm

    Brad, look what LaPalin did to her ex brother in law via “Troopergate” to see true Palin family values.

    And did I miss Palin speaking out about the Obama girls getting trashed in right wing blogs yesterday?

  12. SchrodingersCat | July 10th, 2009 at 05:10 pm

    Truth is, Palin just needs to learn to STFU. Why respond and turn something small and insignificant into something major? Isn’t that PR 101?

    She thinks these responses make her look tough, but they don’t….all they do is make her look petty and insecure. And to do this with the 18 yr old father of her grandson just makes it that much worse. Yuck. What an unattractive person she is.

  13. Bewilderbeast | July 11th, 2009 at 08:21 pm

    Are you SERIOUS? He’s 19 and choosing to engage! Isn’t the difference between 14 and 18 what you would use to justify David Letterman’s inappropriate jokes? Were you outraged abut THAT?? So rediculous. Get ready, ’cause its coming, Sarah to YOUR door. Outflanked again!!

  14. Tena | July 12th, 2009 at 11:30 am

    “I think the fact that they are bashing the father of their grandson is the really scummy thing here. ”

    I could not agree more. It just doesn’t get any crummier or trashier than that.

    Or any more narcissistic on all their parts.

  15. Tena | July 12th, 2009 at 11:32 am

    “So rediculous. Get ready, ’cause its coming, Sarah to YOUR door. Outflanked again!!”

    R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S

    This is what is wrong with Sarah and her devotees – you’re all Stooooooooooopid.

    Sarah comes to my doorstep and she’s not going to like what greets her there.

    Sarah and her devotees are about 15% of the population who are kicking and screaming about joining the 21st century. That’s all that is going on here – y’all are throwbacks.

    You’re behind the curve of history and are being left behind. But don’t let me discourage you from being Neanderthals – they were an evolutionary deadend, too.

  16. mike from Arlington | July 12th, 2009 at 12:33 pm

    Someone needs to make a top 10 Spin List for how her resignation shows leadership starting with McCain’s spin on MTP.

    Also, just saw John Haggee on an end of the world special on the history channel. This is the kind of mindset that needs to be weeded out by the press if anyone runs every. This is very important to gauge how they will deal with the mid east. For these people, Armageddon is welcomed.

  17. Charlie | July 13th, 2009 at 09:12 am

    Sarah Palin only preaches family values, she does not practice it. I agree with Mike in that I think those of us who are not on the radical fringe need to get more involved and make our voices heard. Do not let our country be overtaken by these strident idiots!

  18. MAJII | July 13th, 2009 at 05:31 pm

    I agree, Charlie. I’ve been hyper-vigilant since the radical right-wingers crawled out of their holes. I lived through 8+ years of GWB to see this country at its’ lowest point in my 50+ years of life, and I have vowed, never ever again.

  19. E. Brown | July 13th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    It never ceases to amaze me to see the hypercritical slant that you liberal morons try to put on things. First Sara Palin’s children were not out there trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame on the chance that they might make more money on a fictional book they are presently writing. Sara Palin’s 13 year old daughter innocently attend a ball game in New York with her mother and the idiot on the tonight show exhibited very poor taste in his filthy remarks regarding her children. I don’t see any sexual garbage coming out of Sara Palin’s mouth or that of her spokes person regarding Levi. At no time has Sara Palin initiated any comments regarding Levi other than to defend herself and her family with regard to the slanderous remarks this shallow excuse of a young man continues to make. Individuals such as your self have the intellect of a mud puddle to accept something as fact just because Levi says it happened. You are nothing more than a want to be journalist who obviously has fallen far short of your goal.
    If she made such a comment about making money, it was because she needs money to pay for the legal fees due to all of these frivolous laws suits brought against her by the left-wing liberal organizations that are terrified of her and love to waste money. Especially when it is not their money, they are wasting. Let us not forget the waist of millions of taxpayer dollars that also had to be spent to pay the legal fees for the Governor’s office to defend against these frivolous charges, that Sarah Palin has been exonerated for everyone. What a waste of taxpayer money in these times of economic crisis. Oh yeah, I forgot liberals have no problem wasting money especially it is not their money they are wasting isn’t that what it tells them to do in Saul Linsky’s Rules for Radicals (the liberal’s doctrine) . What a poor excuse for an American you are. I pity not their money they are wasting y your stupidity

  20. E. Brown | July 14th, 2009 at 12:08 am

    It never ceases to amaze me to see the hypercritical slant that you liberal morons try to put on things. First Sara Palin’s children were not out there trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame on the chance that they might make more money on a fictional book they are presently writing. Sara Palin’s 13 year old daughter innocently attend a ball game in New York with her mother and the idiot on the tonight show exhibited very poor taste in his filthy remarks regarding her children. I don’t see any sexual garbage coming out of Sara Palin’s mouth or that of her spokes person regarding Levi. At no time has Sara Palin initiated any comments regarding Levi other than to defend herself and her family with regard to the slanderous remarks this shallow excuse of a young man continues to make. Individuals such as your self have the intellect of a mud puddle to accept something as fact just because Levi says it happened. You are nothing more than a want to be journalist who obviously has fallen far short of your goal.
    If she made such a comment about making money, it was because she needs money to pay for the legal fees due to all of these frivolous laws suits brought against her by the left-wing liberal organizations that are terrified of her and love to waste money. Especially when it is not their money, they are wasting. Let us not forget the waist of millions of taxpayer dollars that also had to be spent to pay the legal fees for the Governor’s office to defend against these frivolous charges, that Sarah Palin has been exonerated for everyone. What a waste of taxpayer money in these times of economic crisis. Oh yeah, I forgot liberals have no problem wasting money especially it is not their money they are wasting isn’t that what it tells them to do in Saul Linsky’s Rules for Radicals (the liberal’s doctrine) . What a poor excuse for an American you are. I pity you for your stupidity. It is a shame that you can see the woods for trees through your rose colored glasses.

  21. Shii | July 15th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Hateful Republican blather: if it’s good enough to post once, it’s good enough to double post.

  22. CouldntPossiblyBe | July 15th, 2009 at 04:02 pm

    I would have more respect for Palin if she and her spokesperson simply issued a statement saying that although they do not agree with Levi Johnston’s opinions, he is entitled to voice them. However, given that he is the father of Palin’s grandson, they will refrain from discussing him publicly. Period. End of story. If Levi continues to bash Palin, it only makes him look bad, not her.

    Levi may be a legal adult, but in the realm of politics, he should really still be considered a child and off-limits. (What does anyone know of the big, bad world at 19?) If no one listens to him, those who are pulling the stings will find another credible mouthpiece for their criticisms. In any case, time will make Palin’s motivations clear. Just wait for her to act once she is out of office. Patience, everyone, patience.

  23. Georgia in NC | July 15th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    EBrown says: “If she made such a comment about making money, it was because she needs money to pay for the legal fees due to all of these frivolous laws suits brought against her by the left-wing liberal organizations that are terrified of her and love to waste money.”
    Wrong, wrong and wrong again. She has raised enough money from poor blinded supporters like you to pay legal fees she incurred by deciding to hire an attorney to represent her interests in investigations of ethics charges brought by Alaskans, most of them Republicans, and by herself. There are no lawsuits. The most expensive ethics charge for the state was the one she filed against herself. She has been found guilty of abuse of power by the AK legislature, and had to pay the state $8K in reimbursed travel expenses to settle another of the “frivolous” charges.
    Right now the state has to call a special session of the legislature to fix the mess Palin has left AK in, costing the state as much as half a million dollars. Who’s wasting what?
    Oh – and you betcha I’m scared, but not of Palin – just her ignorance, and of how many ignorant people think she’s not ignorant.

  24. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 09:39 am

    Levi Johnston claimed “he’d heard Palin say she’s hoping to cash in on a book deal.”

    That’s pretty peculiar since Levi said in an interview this week that he hasn’t seen or been around Sarah Palin for MONTHS.

    Levi Johnston is just hoping to become a celebrity by bashing the mother and grandparents of his own son.

    Shame on Levi and shame on those who enable this loser.

  25. bygones | July 16th, 2009 at 11:26 am

    They should all just shut up and go away. Perfect examples of Jerry Springer material all washing their dirty laundry in public. No one would have ever heard of this group had McCain not been sleazy enough to try to pull women voters into his camp by selecting this dimwit as his VP.

    She knows nothing and is unfit to head a PTA let alone the nation. And engaging in a slugfest with a 19 year is the height of stupidity.

    She is dumber than dirt and those who support her are as well. She comes across as a grown up version of that teen aged beauty queen last year who told us in the most excrutiating way about “maps”. Don’t blame the critics for her lack of preparedness, blame her.

    Ready to lead? Oh my God!

  26. TheGhostWhoTalks | July 16th, 2009 at 11:50 am

    There is nothing wrong with the Palin family that Jerry Springer couldn’t fix with a chair-fight and a thoughtful 60-second wrap-up thought on co-dependency and drug abuse.

  27. bygones | July 16th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    She already signed a book deal and is willing to go on as many endorsement tours as Cher’s farewell performances. As long as the cash is there to be scoffed up and the camera is properly angled she is willing to discuss those “fantastic” policy positions for all the dunderheads to absorb.

    And don’t let the tortured incoherency become an obstacle. Bush got away with the same inability to perfect sentence structure so why not her? These are “true Americans” ladies and gents. Those of us who cannot see it are just mean.

  28. Mrs. Polly | July 16th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    “That’s pretty peculiar since Levi said in an interview this week that he hasn’t seen or been around Sarah Palin for MONTHS.”

    Raindrip, Sarah was undoubtedly thinking “Book deal and those! Also.” from the millisecond she first stepped up to the microphone to slam civic-minded people who actually finish their jobs.

  29. johnS | July 16th, 2009 at 01:41 pm

    Are you palin haters retarded? “Brutal’????Please. It was down right polite by Obama cult member’s standards.

  30. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 02:22 pm

    Mrs. Polly:

    May you someday have a son-in-law like Levi to make up stories about YOUR family. That would be sweet justice.

  31. Kevin K. | July 16th, 2009 at 02:50 pm

    Well, ahem, “raindrop,” I’m sure Mrs. Polly could find a way to deal with comments made by a nineteen-year-old boy if she was sitting on a multi-million dollar book deal.

    And johnS, nice to call “palin haters” “retarded” on a post about Trig’s mother, you heartless *******.

  32. Kevin K. | July 16th, 2009 at 02:51 pm

    Really, “b@stard” is blocked here? But it’s such a cuddly word!

  33. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 03:07 pm

    Kevin K:

    I think we can assume Levi is hoping to gat himself a book deal or at least get rich and famous by being so eager to dump all over his own son’s family. I imagine his son will think about that when he grows up and will be ashamed to have such a father.

  34. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 03:22 pm

    The word “gat” was clearly a typo; I had meant to write “get.”

    Sorry.

  35. Kevin K. | July 16th, 2009 at 04:15 pm

    “I imagine his son will think about that when he grows up and will be ashamed to have such a father.”

    Ah, so now you’re a fortune teller.

  36. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 05:29 pm

    Kevin K:

    You really ARE desperate.

    To “imagine” means to “think” or to “conjecture.”

    It is not so much a question of foretelling the future as imagining how a son would feel about a father who — for fame and money — trashed his mother, grandparents and larger family.

    I imagine you are an Obama supporter, since your attitude is so typical of Obamatrons.

    Pathetic.

  37. Kevin K. | July 16th, 2009 at 07:37 pm

    “I imagine you are an Obama supporter, since your attitude is so typical of Obamatrons.”

    Obamatron. Nice one. Talk about desperate. And I’m not the one “imagining” what an infant who isn’t even one-year-old yet is going to think about his father when he grows up.

    That is pathetic.

  38. raindrop | July 16th, 2009 at 09:20 pm

    Kevin K:

    Now you’ve gone from pathetic to silly.

  39. Kevin K. | July 16th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

    Now you’ve gone from pathetic to silly.

    Oh, christ, you have no idea.

    Everyone, sing along:

    Raindrop keeps falling on their head….

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